Meeting… Danijel Stankovic!

Portrait: Daniel Loren

Interview: Jakub "Kuba" Kaczmarczyk

"Of course I didn’t remember it, but luckily Kuba had proof and showed me that clip, the day after the premiere of In Search Of Miraculous."

One of the best part of doing Live Skateboard Media has been the chance to find out about many independent project that, even in those so-called limitless communication times, could have gone unspotted (by me). They are all good in the sense that they are the sweat and blood of small groups that decide to put their energy together toward one goal, but, some are just way better than that. Grey Area is one of those…
The project of Jakub Kaczmarczyk and Pawel Piotr Przybyl, aiming –as you could guess– from Poland is one of the strongest video I have seen in the past twelve months… Skating is top-notch, but it also features really strong and original aesthetics that go all the way to the soundtrack. Yep, I love it. So, it is an honour for me that Grey Area agreed to share its first part online, tomorrow saturday, on Live, especially knowing it would be the one of Swedish ripper Danijel Stankovic. A great chance to let him chat about how he got involved with Grey Area and what he has been up to.
You can still get a hard copy of Grey Area, so do yourself a favor here, and stay tuned till tomorrow!

Why are you featured in an Eastern European movie? What’s the story, here?
First of all, I love Eastern Europe and the Balkans… My family is from former Yugoslavia, so I guess I feel a part of it, in some way. I have a saying: “Eastern Europe is still like 95”, and I mean that in a good way: skateboarding is not blown out over there. How I got involved with Kuba and his video was from the relationship we built working with Nike SB. From the first time I met him, I knew we would be friends outside of work. We had an offsite Nike SB meeting in Barcelona, and it was one of those nights over at Pile bar where we tried to break the record on how many mojitos we could drink. Drunk out of our minds, Kuba managed to film me with his phone when I made this promise: “After In Search Of Miraculous I will film a part for your video!” and there you have it… Of course I didn’t remember it, but luckily Kuba had proof and showed me that clip, the day after the premiere of In Search Of Miraculous.

It’s been a while since your In Search… part came out. What have you been up to, were you involved in any project besides Grey Area?
I was pretty done after that video; I one-upped myself for that video part, so skating in Malmö and my area became a bit tough and uninspiring for a while. I filmed and skated with my friends and filmed for the Streetlab and XXIV video, shot for my Kingpin interview. A friend and me did a Swedish version of "One In A Million”, which was super fun. Nike SB & WeSC also had a few trips lined up… I always try to stay as busy as possible. But sometimes it’s hard to fit all in, full time job, family and kids, friends, skateboarding…

How long did you film for it, did you guys travel a lot?
I’m not sure for how long we filmed for Grey Area, two to three years maybe? Kuba came to Malmö three times. We also went to Morocco, Israel and Poland, and that was a nice experience.

Do you like to skate in your hometown?
I love skating in my hometown. Malmö is probably one of the raddest places to skate: it has it all. But, as in any hometown, you sometimes get “home blind” and that’s when its good to go travel, so you come back and feel extra stoked again.

We all know you’re part of The National skateboards, now. Tell us a bit more about it…
The National is a dream! Great friends doing great things together: I’m super stoked and proud to be a part of it and looking forward to see what we can do with it.

You’re famous for your massive pop. Have you ever tried ollieing your son, Maxi?
[Laughter] I haven't, but I should soon: he’s still under a meter, so I can still do it.

What are your plans for now?
Damn, 2013 will be a busy year for sure! I released my own brand Post Hats & Details, that I run with one of my best friends Martin Ottosson (www.defekt.se). It’s a small cap and headwear brand out of Sweden. New things are happening with Nike SB, and I got my own Korvlover capsule coming out with WeSC this summer. Stoked! My friend Martin Pennlowe started a sock company called Melowe so we are filming for his project and, of course, I’m collecting footage for The National. I just started to ride for Liverpool’s finest shop, Lost Art, and they have some good things going on. And, hopefully, Kuba has a new promise on some media device to show me soon!

Full-length movies versus internet clips: what do you prefer to watch and film for, and why?
I love full-lengths, I love having the DVD disc, sit down comfy in my sofa and watch a skate video. Local scene videos are my favorite, especially from the East, both Europe and US. But I probably browse the internet almost everyday for some new interesting stuff to watch. There are so many rad skaters out there that never will get the attention they deserve, people are so good nowadays.
Filming for a video is special and it feels like it lasts a lot longer, it’s more worth it than an online clip. But I’ve never filmed for a serious online clip, so that might be the next big thing for me…